Food & Drink

The Quirky Stories and Characters That Took Our Minds Off the Mayhem in 2017

This year’s "shiny things" were a welcomed respite from the news cycle.

By Caroline Craighead December 1, 2017

amazon-dress-780-x-540

This article originally appeared in the December 2017 issue of Seattle magazine.

[addtoany]

Check out the rest of our 2017 Year in Review package.

Poses like “downward-facing goat” were routine at the various goat yoga classes in the area, incorporating goats into a playful practice for yogis of all ages.

The world’s largest rubber duck, Mama Duck, made a splash into the Thea Foss Waterway for Tacoma’s Festival of Sail in June. Owned by Minnesota-based Draw Events, the oversize tub toy stands six stories tall and had no problem posing for pictures.

Sheridan Martin, a design technologist at Amazon, used her talent to create the Amazon Sphere dress, a frock made of fabric, cardstock and wood, inspired by the geodesic architecture of the new Amazon Spheres buildings.

Livestreams from Woodland Park Zoo broadcast views of tiger, bear and bat exhibits, along with the popular Giraffe Cam, offering viewers a glimpse of mama giraffe Tufani’s new baby, Lulu.

Funko, the Everett-based retailer of Pop! and other licensed action figures and collectibles, opened its first brick-and-mortar store, which is filled with life-size statues, theme rooms and 17,000 square feet of merchandise, including figures such as Agent Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks and Clerks’ Kevin Smith, who visited on opening day and said, “You’re nobody unless you’ve been popped.”

We can’t get enough Seattle pet-stagrams, such as that for French bulldog Sir Charles Barklay (@barklaysircharles; 481,000 followers and counting), who explores the city in Seahawks gear and loves to take it easy.

Oh, and maybe you heard? Russell Wilson and Ciara had a baby, a little girl they named Sienna Princess, a fitting name for a royal Seattle couple. 

 

Follow Us

Seattle Podcast: Spencer Frazer: Second Act Artist Changing the World

Seattle Podcast: Spencer Frazer: Second Act Artist Changing the World

[addtoany]

Dynamic And Engaging: The Call Of Calder

Dynamic And Engaging: The Call Of Calder

As a teenager, former Microsoft executive Jon Shirley fell in love with the works of Alexander Calder. He’s now sharing his passion with the public.

For me, moving around The Eagle, taking it in outside of traditional gallery walls and interacting with it, choosing how I saw the work, was a totally new way to experience art...

The Art in This Leschi Backyard is Literally Immersive

The Art in This Leschi Backyard is Literally Immersive

One local collector’s transformed yard features a new swimming pool with a custom installation

When architect Ian Butcher signed on to design an outdoor space for a local philanthropist and art collector, it turned out to be a double dose of revisiting the past...

Longtime Seattle Artist Mary Ann Peters Opens Show at the Frye 

Longtime Seattle Artist Mary Ann Peters Opens Show at the Frye 

Peters’ first solo museum show is a testament to her decades-long career

After more than 30 years of active involvement in Seattle’s art scene, Mary Ann Peters finally has her first solo museum show...